The next morning, Lisa hurried to the office after cleaning up. There was an invitation for a tender that day, which was the final project she would be handling here.

If she won the bid, it was the perfect finish of her career here, before moving on to the English branch where she would be promoted directly to the CEO position.

When she arrived at the meeting room, the representatives of several other companies joining the bid also arrived, with Chuck among them.

When he saw Lisa, he winked at Lisa while no one was watching.

Lisa did not respond but was staring pointedly at his secretary who stood right behind him.

Naturally, it was Susan.

Lina certainly found the situation ironic.

Chuck would tell her everything that happened at work, which included today's tender, but not that he had just changed his secretary.

She certainly wouldn't be aware how long they had been together, out of her sight…

Still, there was thirty minutes before the actual tender, and Lisa told her assistant to keep both eyes on her laptop and their computer while she freshened up in the washroom.

She took just a few minutes and was heading back when she heard loud shouts from the conference room.

Lisa's heart skipped a beat as she remembered the provoking smile Susan had flashed her before she left.

As she rushed in, she saw that everything and everyone was in place, except for her corner of the table.

There was coffee all over it, and her tender documents were soaked through!

Her assistant was holding her laptop, anxiously wiping the coffee stains on it.

When he saw Lisa coming back, he immediately cried, "Ms. Adams! That woman was hovering around our corner suspiciously for so long. I got worried and demanded to know what she was up to… and that was when she poured her whole cup of coffee directly on your seat!"

And where Lisa's assistant pointed, Susan stood looking helpless as she had coffee stains on her blouse too.

Lisa caught on to Susan's intentions right then, and the latter was at once pouting. "I'm sorry, Ms. Adams… It's all my fault, though it's just an accident…"

Before Lisa could snap, Chuck quickly stood in front of Susan protectively. "I'm sorry, Lisa—I asked Susan to get me my coffee. It's an honest mistake."

Lisa and Chuck's relationship was well known among the other business elites, and everyone was at once at ease gossiping as Chuck intervened.

Still, he soon wheeled on Susan, glowering coolly, "How could you screw up this bad? Don't you know how important today's tender is?! Apologize to Ms. Adams now. If this happens again, you can just resign!"

Susan shuddered, her body trembling as she looked as helpless as she was pitiful.

Her eyes were red, and tears were threatening to fall even as she bowed deeply to Lisa.

One of Lisa and Chuck's mutual friends came up and joked just then, "Come on, girl—we're all in this sorry affair together. You know you have to prepare backups just in case."

"See? Your darling loves you so much that he really doesn't want you to get hurt. Just look at what he did to that little girl…"

Lisa felt a myriad of different emotions.

She wanted to be cold, but she had no choice but to smile.

Chuck was pursing his lips, clearly apologetic even as other representatives came up to her to deescalate the situation.

They would remark on her successful career and envy how her husband treasured her so much.

But Lisa was speechless for a moment, her throat too dry to argue.

Treasured her? In the past, maybe. But now…

In the end, even fresh wildflowers outshone old gems—she would probably just be a burden if she insisted on staying.

-

Nonetheless, Lisa's assistant managed to bring a backup copy of their tender documents, and she won the bid without further problems.

Everyone present had expected that much, but as everyone congratulating her left, Lisa realized that she did not see Chuck.

She was heading to the washroom to freshen up again when she heard a strange ruckus in a room behind her.

It sounded like a splatter, and a woman's panting…

Lisa frowned and was about to leave when she heard Susan's voice—soft, shuddering, and complaining, "Ahh… You scolded me in front of so many people… I'm so humiliated that I can't show my face ever again!"

Lisa's footsteps stopped before she knew it, and she shuddered when she heard Chuck snorting. "Come on, girl—be good now. You know the broad has a temper, and she would've torn you a new one if I didn't snap at you… Also, how are you still so lively after crying so much? Don't you think you deserve some punishment?"

His voice was so quiet that Lisa could hear their bodies clapping together, and Susan's voice was suddenly less complaining as she purred sweetly, "But you told me to do it…"

"Shush now—I just told you to be good." Chuck chuckled. "Also, it's just a gamble—I mean, there was an 80% chance of me winning if she screwed up her bid. Then wouldn't you get rich too, with the way you're sucking up to me?"

Susan giggled even as the audible splatter seemed to fade.

Lisa had to keep her hand firmly over her mouth because her stomach was churning.

It was Chuck's idea all along…

She believed it was Susan's own bright idea at first, and that Susan just wanted to harass her, but Chuck was the one who had put Susan up to it!

And when he talked about how he wanted Lisa to lose, Lisa certainly discerned the jealousy and ruthlessness that she was all too familiar with.

She trembled so much that she had to lean on the walls of the hallway to stand firm.

The mental image of that earnest, diligent youth suddenly paled as her impression of Chuck distorted, her previous impression of him gone with the wind.

As scalding tears finally flowed out of her eyes, streaming down her chin and dropping on her feet, she felt a chill that seemed to cut her to the bone.

There, in that empty hallway, there was only the sound of her stifled sobs.

Lisa spent the night at the hotel, composing herself before finally returning home.

As soon as she opened the door, she found a familiar pair of stilettos right behind it.

The living room was empty, but the bedroom door was ajar.

Feeling a bad premonition, she rushed to the bedroom door and opened it, freezing up at the sight before her.

The whole place was a mess—the vase on the nightstand had been knocked down to the floor, with the flowers and water scattered all over.

There were clothes thrown carelessly on the bed, while Susan beside it, wearing her slippers with a sweet, innocent smile as she held Lisa and Chuck's honeymoon photobook.

Lisa took a deep breath and tried to fight back her rage. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Adams." Susan shrugged. "Chuck asked me to get him an important document and a change of clothes… Can't wear what we were wearing yesterday, since things got a bit intense…"

Susan's provocation was barenaked, as she dropped the thick photobook as Lisa watched, the contents a mess as everything spilled out.

Lisa could see the blissful smiles on her and Chuck's faces—it was just so ironic now.

"Whatever."

Since she was leaving forever tomorrow anyway, she ignored Susan's provocation, walking past Susan to reach for her bedside drawer.

However, Susan followed her and snatched the tiny totem she reached for!

"What are you doing?!" Lisa sprang to her feet right then, glaring at the totem as Susan lifted it high over her head.

Susan's eyes lit up with glee when she saw Lisa's concern. "So you actually can care about something, Ms. Adams? A love token, perhaps?"

Lisa spaced out as she remembered—it was indeed a token of love, but it was from Hank.

When she was infected with the epidemic disease that year, she went to several hospitals, but the doctors couldn't do anything, saying that even if she survived by chance, she would suffer serious brain damage from the fever.

After going to every hospital asking for help but to no avail, Hank braved storms and climbed a mountain, reaching a monastery at the summit where they gifted him with the blessed totem.

As soon as the next day arrived, her burning fever miraculously subsided.

Hank told Lisa then that totems had spiritual value and would ward off plights.

And this was the only keepsake Lisa had of him.

Having grown up in an orphanage with Hank before they married, the totem was therefore as much a symbol of familial warmth as a keepsake of her late husband.

As Susan's fingers slowly loosened around the totem, Lisa dove for it—but it was too late.

She could only watch as the totem split down the center as it crumbled into many tiny pieces.

Still, she reached for the fragments frantically as she tried to piece them back with trembling fingers.

The fragments were cutting her, but she didn't seem to feel it, holding every piece in her palms before she slowly stood up.

Naturally, Susan was laughing triumphantly as she watched Lisa's face turn pale…

Smack!

The slap cut short her laughter, just as a man shouted in shock from the door, "Lisa! What are you doing?!"

Susan was suddenly a sympathizable victim who kept trembling as she apologized to Lisa, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Ms. Adams, I was just helping Mr. Smith collect some documents… I didn't know you were here, and I was careless… Mr. Smith and I really have nothing to do with each other. You can hit me all you want, but don't question Mr. Smith's loyalty…"

Chuck glowered hideously as she sobbed, and he strode up to Susan's side, bumping Lisa viciously on the shoulder as he passed her!

Gathering Susan's face in his hands, he studied her for a second before wheeling on Lisa the next and bellowed, "Apologize to Susan now!"

Lisa was taken aback—he had never taken up that tone with her before.

Still, she looked up straight into Chuck's eyes as she spoke calmly. "She broke into my bedroom without permission and broke my things. Why should I apologize?"

Chuck somehow felt flustered when she saw how calm Lisa was, but he quickly abandoned the thought and rubbed between his brows irritably. "Susan told you—I sent her to get documents and some clothes. It's my fault if she knocked something over, and it's just a trinket. You'd assault someone over a lifeless thing?"

Lisa was suddenly reminded of the other bidders teasing her and felt the teasing of her colleagues at the bidding meeting that day, and her still heart seemed to feel a pang of phantom pain again.

This was the husband whom they said treasured her—blaming her for hitting his other woman and making her cry, without noticing her bleeding fingers.

Lisa's silence, however, further irritated Chuck. "Did you hear a word I said? If you're only going to be so unreasonable, I guess I shouldn't have catered to your whims and spoiled you for so many years!"

It was a very familiar voice, but the words were so unfamiliar to Lisa.

"You regret everything now? Then you can leave." Lisa's voice was at once quiet and weary.

Chuck was left further furious. "What?! You're leaving me over a broken trinket?!"

Huffing twice in rage, he suddenly took Susan's wrist and deliberately held it right in front of Lisa's face. "Unbeleiveable! Let's see you find another man who can tolerate your bad temper after you leave me!"

With that, Chuck stormed out, banging the door loudly along the way.

Lisa could still see Susan's smug smile as they left and reached up to touch her own chest.

Strangely, there was no pain—there was only a dull churning sensation, as if there was a thin veil thrown all over her senses, denying her sorrow, let alone joy.

Sighing, she carefully put the pieces of the totem in her bag, still strangely calm as she packed all her luggage.

She took out the fake marriage certificate that she had used to deceive Chuck before, finally feeling a pang of pain as she remembered his dazzling smile.

There really was a time when they were earnestly in love.

Unfortunately, the heart was utterly volatile, changing in just an instant.

And with it, the sweet bliss of the past was all but forgotten with the enticement of a younger and more attractive body.

Lisa's fingers trembled as she touched Chuck's face before abruptly and viciously tearing both marriage certificates into pieces.

Leaving the pieces of paper all over the floor, Lisa pulled her suitcase along and walked out the door without looking back.

In the dimly lit room of a jacuzzi hotel, Susan was gyrating her hips as she straddled Chuck gleefully.

"It's just us tonight again…" she purred with devilish charm.

Somehow, Chuck couldn't get interested—the sight of Susan's face kept reminding him of Lisa's pale face somehow.

As Susan kept pressing herself on him, he pushed her away irritably.

"Ah!" she yelped as she fell backward into the jacuzzi, the huge splash finally catching Chuck's attention, and he turned.

Her cleavage was clear for all to see, while her wet hair was clinging to her neck and chest.

Chuck couldn't tear his eyes away from her skin, which was reddened from the hot water.

Seeing him gulp as his eyes lit up, Susan in his eyes, she fought back the petty resentment in her heart and pressed against him enthusiastically.

Soon, his grunts and her moans echoed around the room.

Even as Susan wrapped her arms around Chuck's neck, her eyes glinted maliciously where he couldn't see.

Sooner or later, she would make Chuck completely forget about Lisa!

-

The next morning, Chuck returned home after much hesitation and was absolutely stunned when he opened the front door.

Most of Lisa's belongings that she kept in the living room had disappeared, and there was a pile of paper scraps on the floor next to the dining table.

Chuck felt a foreboding sensation even as he rushed over to pick them up, and he had barely pieced them together when he paused, shocked by the bold letters that read 'marriage certificate.'

The photo was torn down the middle, and Chuck couldn't piece them together no matter how hard he tried.

And it felt just like how his marriage with Lisa couldn't be mended..

Stricken by panic and disbelief, he realized right then Lisa was really going to divorce him—that was why she had even torn up the marriage certificate!

Still, he looked around, muttering to himself, "No, we're not divorced yet! I'll just have them reissue the marriage certificate, and then apologize to Lisa. She'll definitely forgive me..."

With that in mind, he whipped out his phone and called the Civil Affairs Bureau.

The clerk on the other end of the phone listened to his request and assured him, "It's alright, Mr. Smith. As long as you're legally married, the marriage certificate can be reissued."

Chuck breathed a huge sigh of relief, and he gave the clerk his and Lisa's ID numbers as asked.

After a while, the clerk asked hesitantly, "Mr. Smith… Are you sure you're legally married to Ms. Adams?"

Chuck was stunned, and his heart began to pound violently. "Yes, we are. We registered at the civil affairs office down Basti Road."

"But you were never registered as married," the clerk replied. "As for Ms. Adams, she was registered as married to a Mr. Locke seven years ago, although that was officially delisted just five days ago too."

Chuck's mind went blank. What the clerk said was simply ridiculous!

"How can that be?!" he exclaimed. "I have our marriage certificate right here in my hands, and we've definitely been married for three years! How can we be unregistered?! Is it some clerical error?"

"Sir, the bureau's registration system is online 24/7 nationwide. It's impossible for any clerical error to last that long…"

The clerk then suggested hesitantly and awkwardly, "However, may I ask you to examine the photo on the certificate? Genuine marriage certificates will always have a watermark imprinted on each photo…"

Chuck stared blankly at the photo on the certificate for a moment.

Not about to give up, he brushed a finger over it, but it was smooth and showed no hint of a watermark!

His and Lisa's marriage certificate was fake!